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Patrice Bergeron nursing ankle injury as he remains day-to-day

There was some concern Patrice Bergeron suffered a concussion in a fight, but it appears those worries can be put to rest. Bergeron, 30, is reportedly day-to-day with an ankle injury and could return during the final three contests of Boston’s six-game road trip.

Patrice Bergeron, 30, has missed each of the Bruins past two games, but it appears concern that Boston’s leading scorer is out with a concussion can be put to rest.

According to the Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy, Bergeron missed Sunday’s game with “an apparent ankle injury,” and he remains with the Bruins on their six-game road trip. Bergeron hasn’t placed since last Thursday and the injury appears as though it may have been the result of a second period fight with Winnipeg Jets winger Blake Wheeler.

Wheeler and Bergeron tussled with six minutes remaining in the second period, and Bergeron only skated another 3:15 in the contest. The majority of Bergeron’s remaining time on ice came on a late-game power play, and his three even strength shifts in the third period totalled 1:16. He hasn’t played since.

Bruins coach Claude Julien announced prior to the weekend’s game that Bergeron could be missing some time, calling the center questionable for Saturday’s game against Minnesota after he missed Friday’s practice. At the time, Julien said he didn’t have “all the details” regarding Bergeron’s injury.

“You don’t like seeing your star players (fight),” Julien told Conroy Saturday. “But you also understand that it’s an emotional game and that stuff happens and at one point a player says, ‘Enough is enough and I’m going to stand up for myself.’…He took things upon himself. As much as you don’t like it, you can’t tell him he’s not allowed. He’s a big boy and he can certainly make some decisions on the ice. And it’s not the first time that he’s fought. But I like the fact that he doesn’t fight much.”

Bergeron’s absence for the past two games hasn’t had a huge impact on the Bruins, but it’s hard not to wonder if Sunday’s last-shot-wins type contest against the Detroit Red Wings could have gone in Boston’s favor had they had the services of Bergeron, arguably the best two-way player in the league. The Red Wings’ 6-5 victory put them one point ahead of the Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division.

Through 54 games, Bergeron has 21 goals and 47 points, and is averaging 20 minutes of ice time per game.

There’s no timeline for a potential return, but the Bruins suit up Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets before heading to Nashville to face the Predators Thursday. Their six-game road trip concludes Saturday against the Dallas Stars. This is the longest absence for Bergeron since April 2013 when he missed six games due to a concussion.